3. Criminals

Available for 29 days

Historian Dr Justin Champion goes in search of Britain's multicultural past and pieces together a picture of society during the Elizabethan era. From criminals and migrants to prostitutes and people regarded as mad scientists, he examines the life and times of some of Elizabeth I's more unusual subjects. Piecing together evidence from dusty archives, diaries, court records and murder pamphlets, Justin paints an intriguing picture of the darker side of Elizabethan life. Now, Justin rifles through the popular murder pamphlets of the Elizabethan era to find out about serial killers, murderers and executioners. Various moral panics during this period resulted in harsher sentencing - you could even be fined for swearing in public. And with no prison system, if found guilty, your fate was the scaffold. Justin visits Tyburn, one of the prime execution sites. Reader: Jonathan Keeble Producer: Sarah Taylor First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2003.